Value-added carbon materials from PFT (Paraffinic Froth Treatment) tailings

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The Activated carbon materials are known as excellent adsorbent and support a variety of environmental applications, such as purification and storage of gases. This is due to the low cost of raw materials, the availability of a wide variety of carbon sources (for example, coals, biomass, and coke pitch), the large surface area and micropore volume, and the degree of polarity. Accordingly, close attention has been drawn to the synthesis of activated carbons (AC) from waste material owing to the abundance of sources for scale-up production and environmental purposes. In this proposal, asphaltene from the PFT (Paraffinic Froth Treatment) tailings is considered as an inexpensive and readily available carbon source to synthesize novel and high surface activated carbon for different applications such as gas and water treatments, catalyst supports, and removal of heavy metals in the industry. Since current pyrolysis technologies face many challenges due to the technical complexity associated with wastes, this project will develop an innovative catalytic pyrolysis process to reduce waste disposal costs and environmental footprint with the optimum design for an industrial unit via process simulation, optimization, and techno-economic assessment providing a value-added product for the petrochemical and chemical industries. Catalytic pyrolysis of asphaltene from the PFT tailings provides consumers with a cost-effective solution to reduce waste carbon footprint in soil and provides a tool for policymakers to decarbonize the heavy oil industry significantly in Canada and the globe. An activated carbon production facility will bring to Canada outstanding capital investment through valorizing the carbon wastes. Successful completion of this study generate fundamental and practical knowledge required for the commercialized technologies that are its long-term objective. This project will provide a training opportunity for several HQP's including three Postdoctoral fellows and two Undergraduate students in the field of conversion processes.